The end of the year is a busy time for many conservation organizations. You are probably working to finalize programmatic reports, wrap up key projects, evaluate your performance, and plan for the year ahead. It’s easy to get caught up in the flurry of activities, so we’re focusing this Reader on why it matters to take a pause and celebrate your team and your successes over the year. 

Why does it matter? It helps to motivate your team, creates a culture of celebrating wins, allows everyone to connect, and helps to showcase the progress you've all made together.

Here are some questions to help guide your year-end reflections →

• What are you most proud of as a team?

• What has made you individually the proudest this year?

• What activity/moment/conversation left you feeling really inspired?

• How would you describe this year with a single word?

• What was your biggest challenge this year as a team? How did you handle it?

• In what ways, collectively or individually, are you doing better than last year?

• What surprised you the most this year?

• What moment at work made you laugh the loudest this year? Why?

• What do you look forward to the most next year?

Cost-effective ways to celebrate successes and each other at the end of the year →

We asked the Maliasili team to share some clever, affordable ideas to help you finish 2022 strong and together as a team. 

Do your version of a ‘Mbuzi Day'

Some teams, such as Honeyguide, enjoy roasted goat (mbuzi) as they discuss their achievements and reflect on the year. Consider doing the same thing for your team - it doesn't necessarily have to be mbuzi - it could simply be coming together to share a meal or drink as you chat and connect.

Go camping

Camping helps you connect with nature, especially for teams that are often in the office and rarely get to go to the field. Find cost-effective ways to do this, including cooking your own meals while out in the bush, setting up your accommodation and more!

Zoom awards

Gather together on a Zoom call and give everyone "a virtual award", highlighting a key area of success that each individual has achieved. Examples include: “Best driver - getting unstuck from any muddy mess” or “Spreadsheet master - ensuring all our finances are in order and accountable.”

Practice gratitude

Find a fun way to share gratitude messages with team members. For example, Maliasili recently started a gratitude channel on Slack where we post short messages of appreciation for each other. Consider appointing one person on the team to collect messages of gratitude from everyone and then compiling it into an email (make sure everyone on the team gets a message).

Watch your wins

Ask your team to share their top 5 favorite pictures from the year. Put them together to create a slideshow of key successes and important moments. Make sure to include funny and whimsical moments too! Join together to watch and reflect, either on Zoom or in person.

Online or in-person 'happy hour'

This is a great way to connect informally with colleagues. Each person shares something they want to celebrate about the year while enjoying a drink of choice - a cup of tea or something festive!

Have a themed party

Explore fun ways to celebrate. This can be a themed or dress-up (Zoom or in-person) party. The dress-up can be quite simple, such as a funny hat. Have some music, food, and a drink. Everyone can share their favorite or most fun moments of the year, what they learned, and what reminded them why they do the work they do.

Personalized cards

This would work particularly well for small teams. Create a virtual or hard copy card for each team member, and then everyone takes a turn to sign it with a positive message.

For more content like this, sign up to the Maliasili Reader HERE.